Puppy house training advise needed

[thatguy]

We have a new puppy and I have never house trained a dog before.. He 59 days old at this point, and I need some advise..

Here is what I know

1) he loves the crate and will go in without any problems and will wimper/cry a little when you put him in it, but soon stops.

2) He has never had an 'accident' in the crate, and I understand he really doesnt want to soil his home..

3) He has had several accidents in the house from us not watching him close enough and getting him outside ASAP.

4) When you take him outside he pees immediately and will go #2 as needed within a few minutes..

5) We have been taking him outside after meals and about every 1.5 to 2 hours (whichever comes first). I work from home so that part is easy for us. During the day he is either in his crate or confined to a playpen attached to his crate, so i can get some work done

6) At night we take him out when we go to bed (between 10 and 11) and take him out when we get up in the morning 630 to 7 am.. I will get up in the middle of the night every 3 to 4 hours and take him out, sometimes i have to wake him up to go out. He will do his business as needed every time i take him out. When i take him out it is because I wake up and dont want to go back to sleep and then be woken back up again to take him out.

7) Once in the crate at night he pretty much sleeps and there is very little, if any crying/wimpering and no barking..


OK here are my newbie questions..

1) Am I being too pro-active by taking him outside too much at night?

2) At night, what should be the longest time between going outside? Assuming he is sleeping.

3) Will he bark or do something if i wait for him to signal he is ready to go out?

thanks for any and all advise.. My wife and I sorta disagree on whether I am taking him out at night too much..

Brian

 

[Dusty]

You are doing all the correct procedures. Just don't give him water after about 6 PM, so he will make it through the nigh. It is just like putting a baby to sleep with a bottle. They will wet the diaper and wake you in the middle of the night. Also, just like a baby, it takes time to train them and at 8 weeks you are at the leading edge of where they start to learn. By the time the puppy is 6 months old, that equates to being a teenager, so you realize quickly that whatever you want that pup to learn, you have the 4 month window of opportunity to do so. I have very small cookies that I train the dogs with. I give them a 1/2 of that cookie each time they do what they are supposed to. Alway reward and praise, but don't scold unless it is absolutely necessary. Gentle scolding isn't bad, but never hit the puppy. They are just like children. If you abuse them, they will react out of fear. If you praise them, they will try there best to please you. Lots of dog toys will also save your furniture. Dogs can be chewers, so it is best to give them there own things to chew on, so they don't choose your. They also love to chew on shoes. Just the right size to hold between the paws, and they have the sent of there favorite person.... YOU.
Almost forgot your last question. You can't take him out too often, but I wouldn't wake him to take him out. He should learn to let you know when he needs to go out. My dog woke me around 3 this morning to go out. The other 2 wanted to go along to watch. This woke up my wife, and then she was angry because we all went back to bed and fell asleep, while she couldn't get back to sleep.
Dusty

 

[goaliedad]

I think you are on the right track- I know alot of people think crating a dog is mean- NOT! I would not be waking him up in the middle of the night- let him ask.
We have a lab mix and a Rotwieller. The Rot was a rescue- the people that had her did not crate her at night- too mean- She has had issues making it thru the night.
When our lab was about 5 months old my wife decorated the house- put some bells on the front door knob- inside. Well, the dog figured out very quickly that we heard bells better than her wimpers. Now 8 years later, there are still bells on the door! It works for us. The Rot has picked this up to some degree- usually she just paces alot. You really have to know how your dog is telling you "I need to go".
Lots of love, be consistent and you will have a friend for life!

 

[Bird]

We got a 12 week old Chihuahua in January. This is the second puppy we've "crate trained" and that seems to be the best method. Instead of going into detail about crate training, I'll just say you can go to google.com and find more than you want to read (and I'll bet you already have). I've never gotten up with the pup in the middle of the night, but my wife says she did several times. Neither of us ever woke the pup to go out, but she said she got up and let it out when it whined and woke her. Oh, yeah, the crate is in our bedroom. We've never physically punished the dog for "accidents" but certainly did scold her when it happened, and while I don't remember just how long it took, I know it didn't seem to take long to get her house broken.

 

[RonMar]

The key is consistency and it sounds like you are doing a good job, but ditto the comment about late fluids, just like a baby. The dog should be able to sleep thru the night. The crate needs to be within earshot of your bed at night so you can hear if the pup wakes up and needs out.

The pup should always go from the crate directly outside. Any free time or playing with the puppy in the house should be after a visit outside. After the free time, either another visit outside or into the crate. This cuts way down on accidents inside the house and the dog learns thru repetition that the business gets done outside. The bells on the door also work great. We have a 3 year old yellow lab that was not very vocal(still isn't) and didn't even bark till at least 10 months. We got her housebroke in 5 days. Since she wouldn't bark I had to figure some way for her to indicate she wanted out. We had some large round ball type Christmas bells. I hung three on a small chain that runs from the doorknob to a screw at the bottom of the door. I would take her from the crate to the door, set her on the floor and ring the bells with HER paw then let her out. After about 3 days of this, it was nearing the end of her free time in the house and we heard the bells ring. So out she went with praise and a treat. We kept up this drill for a few more days, but I would just set her on the floor at the door and she started using the bells on her own regularly after day 3. After day 5, she pretty much was out in the house when we were home and she would decide when she wanted out. There will be occasional accidents for a little while, but with all dog training, consistency on your part is the key to instilling a good behavior. Reward often on good behavior, punish only while the bad behavior is taking place. If you are 10 seconds after the act, the dog dosn't understand what it is in trouble for. Ignore anything that you didn't catch in the act.

Enjoy your dog

 

[schmism]

Ours are "outside" dogs that we allow in the house when we feel we want to.

As such ours are tradtionally a bit older before they are "house broke". Zeus our yongin will come pester us then go sit by the back door.

If it gets "bad" he will sit at the back door and wimper, but he never barks.

Ive heard 4-6 months old before you should feel confortable letting the dog go 8+hrs with out a potty break.

 

[Ken_CT]

Something you might want to consider is to take the dog to a spot you want him to go to every time. If he gets in the habit of going in one particular area, it will mean easier clean-up, and less step-ins when he gets older. And you don't want to put the tractor away with a mess on the tires. You didn't say what the breed is. Bird's chihauhua doesn't make much of a pile, but I had an Irish wolfhound (37" at the shoulder) that you definately didn't want to step in, or trip over his leavings.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Bells on the door works well.

Going to the same spot -- very important if you want a clean yard.

Let the dog wake you up if it wants outside. The crate should be small enough so the dog won't want to pee there.

When your just around the house, tie the dog's leash to your belt. When you get up to go to the other room, take him long. It teachs them many positive things including who is boss, but it also lets you observe what behavior he exibits when he needs to go out. When you see the behavior, say "outside" repeatedly on the way out the door. Soon, you will be able to say "outside?" and let the dog decide if he heeds to go or not. Also, if he's tied to your waist, you can catch him in the act, do a quick intake of breath to get his attention, and rush him out the door, then praise him if he still has any left for outside.

The easyest way to teach a dog something is to reinforce already existing behavior with praise and a command word. When he sits, say "good sit" even if you never gave the command. When you go upstairs, say "upstairs" if he stretches by puting his forelegs out and his butt in the air, say "good bow." When you put down water, say "Water." etc. You'd be surprised what you can teach a dog by assigning words (or hand signals) to offered behavior. Teach you dog to pee on command (very useful), or sneeze, or bark, nod etc. Lots of fun for you and very good for the dog.

A hand motion for each of the major commands is a very good idea. There are standard ones you can find on-line or in books.

Most dogs will learn a hundred words or so without too much effort if you reinforce them regularly and use them as questions sometimes. That is, say "water?" and if you get any reaction at all, then put down the water. Pretty soon, when you say "water?" then if he's thristy he will hop around to let you know that's what he wants. (easiest to see this behavior with the words "walk" and "bisquit")

Enough for now, but repition and praise for desired behavior is the key to teaching dogs.


Cliff

 

[Dusty]

Its best to get a pooper scooper and pick up the droppings. I have a plastic garbage barrel at the edge of the lawn that I put them in. When it is half full, I empty into a hole that I dig in the woods. Cover and forget. With 2 dogs, it can add up quickly and you are bound to step into a land mine if you don't clean up after them. A covered plastic garbage can is nicer looking than a lawn peppered with poop.

 

[greatrandini]

Mild scoldings and tons of praise. At that age if he takes a nap when he wakes he needs to go. If he eats he needs to go. If he drinks he needs to go. Just go out with him and give positive reinforcement. If you catch him in the act of an accident give a mild scolding. Then move him quickly outside until he goes then tons of praise. It does not take long for most dogs to catch on.